Crewe Alex v Shrewsbury Town 25-26 Preview - Pressure On

It's shocking to see Shrewsbury struggle as much as they are doing. But this is what happens when your sole main investor/owner either runs out of money, runs out of interest, or both. The Salop are at their lowest ebb since they were relegated to the Conference in 2003, with relegation to that level looking an increasing possibility. But, they come to Gresty Road off the back of a 4 game unbeaten run, so maybe they are starting to turn a corner. Here is my preview of their visit to the Alex:

Takeover Issues

Shrewsbury's issues with finding a potential new owner should give Alex fans cause for concern. Despite numerous bidders coming forward, nothing concrete or genuine has emerged, if you believe Roland Wycherley of course. If a team like Shrewsbury, who are bigger than the Alex to be fair, can't find serious and proper investment(alongside plenty of other clubs like Tranmerethen what chance have the Alex got at finding meaningful investment?

Getting Better?

Shrewsbury might be struggling, but as mentioned above, they are showing signs of slowly improving in recent weeks. They are 2-2-1 in their last 5 on the road and are unbeaten in their last 5 home and away. Defensively they have also improved lately, with just 3 goals conceded in those 5 games. Their defensive underlying numbers are also surprisingly good, as they have conceded the 3rd least xG in the league this season.

That being said, a lot of their stats suggest they are where they are supposed to be. They are 22nd in possession, 23rd in xG, 21st in shots on target per game, 23rd in big chances, 21st in successful passes. I could go on. Their issues definitely feel attack related, but they look potentially trickier to break down than they first appear.

A struggle

I am nervous about this game for 2 reasons. The first is that the Alex have always seemed to struggle against Shrewsbury. They haven't beaten them at home in front of fans since 1996, as their 3-2 win in 20-21 was behind closed doors. Since that win in 1996, they are 0-4-5 in the non-Covid affected games. Sure, most of these results were when Shrewsbury were a solid-decent outfit, but in front of a packed out away end, could we see the Salop come away with another result from Gresty Road?

Expectation

And this brings me on to the next point, which is about expectation. Bell is still under huge pressure. The Grimsby win has eased that somewhat, but after the defeat against Donny removed any hope of a cup run, the fact is, another defeat here would condemn them to their 4th home defeat in 8 games. They didn't suffer their 4th home defeat until late December in 22-23 and early March in each of the last 2 seasons. If they do that against the side 22nd in the table and with just 1 away win all season, we will see the boos and criticism come out once again.

But whenever they've gone into a game expecting to win, they've fallen flat. See Barnet, Barrow, Bromley. Is this going to fall into that category once again? I really hope not.

Ref Watch

Tom Reeves

It's been a minute since Reeves last took charge of a Crewe game. You have to go back to March 2024 for his last Alex game, that being a 0-0 draw at Gillingham. He doesn't show a lot of cards or stand out from memory. Hopefully that will be the same in this game.

2025-26 Record: 12 games(1 Championship, 4 League One, 4 League Two, 1 National League, 1 League Cup), 38 yellows, 1 red

Last Game:

Crewe Alex Record: 1-3-2, 9 yellows

Injuries/Absences

Crewe

Lee Bell's press conference provided little in the way of clear updates over whether Jack Lankester's knee and Lewis Billington's groin issues will keep them out of the squad for this game. I'd put both on the bench should they be declared fit. Tabiner, Tracey, March and Powell remain out and continue to rehab.

Shrewsbury

The Shrews seem in relatively good health. The only absence from last week's squad at South Shields aside from a couple of loanees was striker Brad Ihionvien, who is out with a long term knee injury. The big concern will be over Sam Clucas, by far their most productive attacker, as he came off in that game after 13 minutes.

Team

The team I think picks itself. There was some debate over whether Waller started last week because it was a cup game or not and I think it was, so I fully expect Booth to return this week. If Billington is nursing a groin issue, a week off won't hurt him, so even if he's fit, he goes on the bench and Mingi starts at RB again. Golding comes in at CB for Connolly, who is a liability. Finney continues at LB after Hutchinson's big defensive mistake last week.

The midfield 3 stay the same even if I'm not a huge fan of the set up and lack of attacking impact there. O'Reilly and Tezgel stay in their usual spots, but Agius has to come out of the lineup. His lack of impact is becoming more and more noticeable by the game. Start Holicek out there please.

The bench will be interesting once again, especially if Lankester and Billington can't get fit. We could see Bogle in a league line up for the first time this season if they can't.

Score Prediction

This simply has to be a win. After 14 games, the table doesn't lie. Shrewsbury are where they are for a reason. This is at home, where you should be targeting a result in League Two. So I won't not predict a win. And is it too much to ask for a first clean sheet in 12 games? Probably, but that's what I'm hoping for. It'll be tight and nervy, but I'm hoping for another 3 points, which would set them up nicely for Oldham.

Crewe Alexandra 1-0 Shrewsbury